THE 


REDWOOD  LIBRARY 

AND 

ATHENAEUM 


•• 

K         v. 


NEWPORT,  R.  I. 

A  SHORT  SKETCH 

4 

PRIVATELY   PRINTED 
1917 


A  Short  Sketch 


i 

OF    THE 


Redwood  Library 


OF 


NEWPORT 
RHODE    ISLAND 


THE     MERCURY     PUBLISHING     COMPANY 
191T 


HISTORY 

The  Redwood  Library  was  incorporated 
in  the  year  1747.  The  Articles  of  Incorpo- 
ration by  the  GOVERNOR  AND  COMPANY  OF 
THE  ENGLISH  COLONY  OF  RHODE  ISLAND  AND 
PROVIDENCE  PLANTATIONS  declare  "Whereas 
Abraham  Redwood  Esq.  hath  generously 
engaged  to  bestow  five  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  to  be  laid  out  in  a  collection  of 
useful  books,  suitable  for  a  public  library 
proposed  to  be  erected  in  Newport  .... 
the  said  Governor  and  Company  do  give 
and  grant  that  the  said  Abraham  Redwood, 
James  Honyman,  and  others  be,  and  are 
hereby  constituted,  a  body  politic  incorpo- 
rate, by  the  name  of  the  Company  of  the 
Redwood  Library.5' 

This  generous  act  upon  the  part  of  Mr. 


Redwood  came  as  the  result  of  conversa- 
tions held  at  the  meetings  of  an  association 
"for  promoting  virtue  and  knowledge", 
formed  in  1730  at  the  suggestion,  it  is 
believed,  of  Bishop  Berkeley,  and  contin- 
uing to  hold  weekly  meetings  under  the 
name  of  the  Philosophical  Society  until  its 
life  was  merged  into  that  of  the  Redwood 
Library. 

The  members  of  this  Philosophical  So- 
ciety included  the  leading  men  of  the 
colony,  governors,  judges,  men  of  political, 
social  and  professional  importance.  To 
their  broad  vision  the  need  of  a  public 
library  became  apparent,  and  they  set 
about  the  task  of  forming  such  an  insti- 
tution. 

If  the  first  gift  of  five  hundred  pounds 
by  Mr.  Redwood  gave  the  impetus  which 
started  the  Library,  the  second  gift,  by 


Henry  Collins,  of  land  on  which  to  erect 
the  building,  was  no  less  important,  and 
within  one  month  of  the  receipt  of  the 
charter,  the  committee  was  appointed  to 
collect  funds  for  the  building.  The  beau- 
tiful structure  at  the  Bellevue  Avenue  end 
of  the  present  series  of  buildings  was  the 
result. 

In  these  days  of  light  and  frivolous 
reading,  it  is  interesting  to  recall  the  seri- 
ousness with  which  the  first  governors  of 
the  Library  entered  upon  the  work,  as 
evidenced  by  the  books  which  were  pur- 
chased with  the  five  hundred  pounds 
presented  by  Mr.  Redwood.  These  con- 
tained over  thirteen  hundred  volumes,  of 
which  about  three  hundred  were  theolog- 
ical, and  the  rest  either  historical,  classical 
or  scientific.  One  looks  in  vain  through 
the  list  for  anything  in  the  nature  of  fiction. 


8 

Occasionally  a  book  of  fables  is  discovered, 
a  few  volumes  of  poems,  and  a  number  of 
dictionaries  and  books  of  reference. 

What  modern  readers  would  have  done 
with  such  a  collection  may  be  imagined 
from  the  statement  that  of  the  seventeen 
thousand  volumes  taken  from  the  Library 
last  year,  over  ten  thousand  were  works  of 
fiction.  It  is  certain  that  the  readers  of 
those  days  were  comparatively  few,  that  life 
was  serious  and  earnest,  and  that  the 
Library  met  the  want  of  the  time. 

It  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  from  the 
very  first  this  Library  has  exerted  upon  the 
people  of  Newport  an  influence  toward 
better  literature  and  higher  thinking,  for 
the  figures  of  circulation  of  today  show  a 
more  serious  purpose  in  the  readers  of  our 
books  than  can  be  found  in  most  of  the 
libraries  throughout  the  country. 


An  important  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Library  was  the  coming  to  Newport  in  1755 
of  Ezra  Stiles,  drawn  to  accept  the  call  to 
the  Second  Congregational  Church,  as  he 
says,  largely  by* 'an  agreeable  town  and 
the  Redwood  Library."  Within  a  year  of 
his  settlement,  he  became  the  librarian,  a 
position  much  of  a  sinecure,  which  he 
accepted  in  order  that  he  might  have  always 
the  key  of  the  building,  and  be  able  to  pass 
as  many  hours  in  the  perusal  of  its  books 
as  he  desired.  Almost  always,  he  informs 
us,  was  he  entirely  alone  among  its  treas- 
ures. 

His  importance  to  the  Library  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  through  his  efforts  many 
valuable  books  were  obtained  as  gifts  from 
Europe,  as  well  as  from  this  country,  and 
he  left  it  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  and 
carefully  arranged. 


10 

December  8,  1776,  the  British  Army 
landed  at  Long  Wharf,  and  took  possession 
of  the  city.  A  large  number,  about  three- 
quarters  of  its  inhabitants,  including  Rev. 
Ezra  Stiles,  fled  from  the  town.  The 
British  officers  proceeded  to  make  of  the 
Redwood  Library  a  club  room,  and  were 
so  reckless  in  their  treatment  of  its  contents 
that  when,  after  an  occupation  of  three 
years,  they  withdrew  their  forces  from  the 
city,  there  remained  about  one-half  the 
number  of  books  which  the  Library  con- 
tained at  their  arrival. 

Whether  a  later  king  of  England  was 
prompted  to  repair  this  injury  done  by  his 
countrymen,  or  whether  the  promptings 
were  simply  those  of  a  generous  spirit, 
certain  it  is  that  King  William,  in  1835, 
made  to  the  Library  a  generous  donation 
of  books,  amounting  to  eighty-four  volumes, 


11 

of  which  seventy-two  are  large  folios.  Not 
all  the  books  being  printed  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  the  gift  was  completed  by  Queen 
Victoria. 

After  the  Revolution  till  the  beginning  of 
the  XIX  century,  as  in  the  town  itself,  so 
in  the  Library,  everything  was  in  con- 
fusion, people  were  discouraged,  and  few 
efforts  made  at  restoration. 

At  this  time  an  interesting  event  in  the 
history  of  the  Library  occurred,  when  on 
September  11,  1780,  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  came  to  Newport,  after  an 
absence  of  four  years,  and  finding  the  State 
House  much  dilapidated,  having  been  used 
as  an  hospital  by  the  British,  they  convened 
in  the  Redwood  Library  building,  which 
during  that  session  became  the  capitol  of 
the  state. 

The   condition   of    the    Library    during 


12 

these  sad  years  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
following  advertisement  which  appeared  in 
the  Newport  Herald  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1790 : 

"The  key  of  the  Library  being  missing, 
supposed  to  be  lent  by  the  former  librarian, 
the  person  who  has  it  in  his  possession  is 
earnestly  requested  to  deliver  it  to  Mr. 
Stephen  Ayrault,  one  of  the  directors." 

Another  advertisement,  printed  in  the 
Newport  Mercury  the  27th  of  September, 
1801,  is  the  first  sign  of  an  attempt  to 
restore  the  Library  to  usefulness. 

"  The  long  neglect  of  this  institution  by 
the  proprietors  may  possibly  have  furnished 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  to  return  the 
books,  so  that  a  large  portion  of  them  have 
in  one  way  or  another  got  upon  the  shelves 
of  individuals  in  different  quarters  of  the 
town." 


13 

The  spirit  which  prompted  this  adver- 
tisement in  the  paper  also  caused  a  new 
movement  in  the  Library  itself ;  affairs 
were  re-organized,  new  members  taken  in, 
a  catalogue  of  the  books  made,  and  grad- 
ually the  interest  in  the  institution  became 
widespread. 

From  that  time  until  the  present,  with 
varying  degrees  of  energy,  the  directors 
have  advanced  the  work  of  the  Library. 
All  the  prominent  residents  of  Newport,  as 
well  as  members  of  the  summer  colony, 
have  from  time  to  time  taken  an  interest  in 
the  prosperity  of  the  institution,  and  it  has 
gradually,  though  not  steadily,  increased, 
until  today  it  occupies  a  prominent  position 
among  the  proprietory  libraries  of  the 
country. 


THE  BUILDINGS 

Not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  Red- 
wood Library  is  the  history  of  its  buildings. 

The  original  portion,  erected  in  1750, 
included  the  much  admired  front  room. 
This  was  designed  by  Peter  Harrison,  one 
of  the  few  trained  architects  who  came  to 
the  colonies  in  the  XVIII  century.  The 
building  is  an  imitation  of  a  Roman  temple 
of  the  Doric  order,  the  pediment  of  the 
front  supported  by  four  columns  of  graceful 
form.  The  result  is  one  of  the  finest 
examples  in  the  country  of  the  classical 
style  of  architecture.  The  details  of  the 
woodwork  are  exceedingly  interesting, 
while  at  the  rear  of  the  room,  as  he  erected 
it,  was  a  window  of  three  parts,  gracefully 
arched,  and  enriched  with  columns  of  the 


15 

Roman  Ionic  character,  which  is  now  to  be 
seen  on  the  north  end  of  the  second  building 
or  reading  room. 

This  first  building  for  over  a  century 
served  the  purposes  of  the  Library,  but  in 
1858  it  was  found  necessary  to  add  to  it  that 
which  is  now  used  as  the  reading  room. 
The  architect  of  this  addition  was  George 
Snell  of  Boston,  who  sought  to  carry  out  the 
idea  suggested  in  the  first  building. 

In  1875  the  Library  was  further  increased 
by  the  erection  of  the  large  addition  now 
used  for  a  delivery  room,  which  was  de- 
signed by  Mr.  George  G.  Mason  of  New- 
port. 

All  these  buildings  were  erected  by  pop- 
ular subscription. 

In  1913,  through  a  legacy  of  Mrs.  Gar- 
diner Blanchard  Perry,  the  directors  were 


16 

enabled  to  erect  the  fourth  building,  a  fire- 
proof stackroom. 

In  each  of  these  additions,  an  effort  has 
been  made  to  harmonize  the  architecture 
with  the  original  building  of  Peter  Har- 
rison, but  naturally  none  has  equalled  that 
in  proportion  and  decoration. 


THE    NAME 

Until  the  year  1833  the  organization  was 
known  as  "  The  Company  of  the  Redwood 
Library,"  though  the  directors  had  not 
confined  the  work  of  the  institution  simply 
to  that  of  a  library.  There  had  been  gath- 
ered a  considerable  number  of  works  of 
art,  so  that  the  materials  for  quite  a  respect- 
able museum  had  accumulated,  and  in  that 
year,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Company,  it 
was  unanimously  voted  "  that  the  President 
and  Directors  be  directed  to  make  appli- 
cation in  behalf  of  the  Company  to  the 
General  Assembly  at  the  October  session 
for  an  act  authorizing  a  change  in  the 
corporate  name  of  the  institution."  This 
change  was  at  that  time  accordingly  made, 
and  ever  since  the  association  has  been 


18 

known  as  "  The  Company  of  the  Redwood 
Library  and  Athenaeum." 

This  name  implies  the  enlarged  scope  of 
the  purposes  of  the  institution,  in  accord- 
ance with  which  there  has  been  continually 
increasing  attention  paid  to  the  development 
of  the  artistic  and  historical  features  always 
appropriately  associated  with  the  Library. 
Those  who  visit  its  rooms  today  can  not 
fail  to  appreciate  the  elevating  and  inspiring 
influence  exerted  by  its  remarkable  collec- 
tion of  paintings  and  statuary. 

Portraits  by  Stuart,  Sully,  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence,  Charles  B.  King  and  others, 
representing  almost  all  the  notable  men  and 
women  in  Newport's  history,  as  well  as  the 
leading  figures  in  our  national  life,  from 
Washington  down ;  and  many  poets  and 
writers.  Visitors  also  are  interested  in  the 
remarkable  collection  of  marble  statues  of 


19 

Michel  Angelo,  Raphael,  Demosthenes, 
Socrates,  Voltaire,  Milton,  and  many 
modern  men  of  eminence. 


PRESENT  CONDITION  AND 
PROSPECTS 

The  condition  of  the  Library  is  in  many 
ways  most  encouraging.  There  are  at 
present  over  sixty-three  thousand  books 
upon  the  shelves,  and  a  large  number  of 
pamphlets,  maps,  manuscripts  and  photo- 
graphs. These  are  increasing  rapidly, 
there  being  considerable  funds  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books,  which  are  being  liberally 
and  we  believe  wisely  expended.  And 
should  we  be  so  fortunate  as  to  secure 
a  considerable  endowment  to  meet  the 
running  expenses,  there  is  no  reason  why 
the  future  of  this  institution,  growing 
rapidly  as  it  is  year  by  year,  should  not 
vastly  exceed  the  past  in  the  extent  and  the 
quality  of  the  influence  which  it  exerts  upon 


21 

the  community,  permanent  and  transient. 
To  this  end  the  directors  are  desirous  of 
exerting  every  effort,  and  trust  that  their 
ambition  may  be  appreciated  and  aided  by 
all  the  share  holders. 


FORMER   PRESIDENTS 

OF    THE 

REDWOOD  LIBRARY  AND  ATHEN^UM 


ABRAHAM   REDWOOD  from  1747  to  1788 

HENRY   MARCH  ANT  "  1791    "  1797 

WILLIAM  VERNON  "  1797   "   1801 

JOHN   HOURS  "  1801    "   18U9 

JONATHAN  EASTON  "  1809   "   1813 

ROBERT  STEVENS  "  1813   "   1830 

DAVID   KING  "  1830    "   1836 

AUDLEY   CLARKE  "  1836   "   1844 

GEORGE  G.   KING  "  1844   "  1846 

WILLIAM   HUNTER  "  1846   "   1849 

DAVID   KING  "  1849   "   1859 

GEORGE  G.  KING  "  1859   "  1870 

WILLIAM   COZZENS  "  1870   "   1872 

HENRY  LEDYARD  "  1872   "   1874 

EDWARD  KING  "  1874   "   1875 

FRANCIS  BRINLEY  "  1875   "   1882 

JAMES   E.    MAURAN  "  1882   "   1883 

HENRY   E.   TURNER  "  1883   "   1886 

LEROY  KING  "  1886   "   1895 

HENRY  G.   MARQUAND  "  1895   "   1902 

ARTHUR  B.    EMMONS  "  1902   "   1909 

DANIEL   B.    FEARING  "  1909   "   1913 

J.    FRED   PIERSON  "  1913   "   1916 


PRESENT   OFFICERS 

OF  THE  INSTITUTION 


President 

RODERICK  TERRY 

Vice-President 

J.    FRED  PIERSON 

Directors 

DARIUS  BAKER  THOMAS  P.  PECKHAM 

MRS.  HAROLD  BROWN  WILLIAM  P.  SHEFFIELD 

WILLIAM  P.  BUFFUM  WILLIAM  S.  SHERMAN 

FRENCH  E.  CHADWICK  HORATIO  R.  STORER 

DANIEL  B.  FEARING  ELIZABETH  H.  SWINBURNE 
MRS.  CHARLES  C.  GARDNER         HAMILTON  B.  TOMPKINS 

HENRY  BARTON  JACOBS  JAMES  LAURENS  VAN  ALEN 

ARTHUR  CURTISS  JAMES  JOSEPH  H.  WILLARD 

Secretary 

ALFRED   G.    LANGLEY 

Treasurer 

EDWARD  A.    SHERMAN 

Librarian 

GEORGE  L.    HINCKLEY 

Assistants 

ADA   E.   GOSLING  KATHERINE  C.    FRIEND 

Cataloguer 

SADIE  ST.  CLAIR 


z 

133 


O 


f 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


